A wave of tenured professors leaving their highly coveted positions say the DeSantis administration is the reason they're leaving Florida
A wave of tenured professors leaving their highly coveted positions say the DeSantis administration is the reason they're leaving Florida
DeSantis has railed against the process by which tenure is awarded and GOP lawmakers have imposed conservative education reforms across the state.
Professors from across the country have long been lured to Florida's public colleges and universities, with the educators attracted to the research opportunities, student bodies, and the warm weather.
But for a swath of liberal-leaning professors, many of them holding highly coveted tenured positions, they've felt increasingly out of place in the Sunshine State. And some of them are pointing to the conservative administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as the reason for their departures, according to The New York Times.
DeSantis, who was elected to the governorship in 2018 and was easily reelected last fall, has over the course of his tenure worked to put a conservative imprint on a state where moderation was once a driving force in state politics. In recent years, DeSantis has railed against the current process by which tenure is awarded, and with a largely compliant GOP-controlled legislature, he's imposed conservative education reforms across the state.
I’m sure republicans love that since it is their goal to replace them.
They won't. They don't want universities, because that implies more education.
What I suspect will probably happen is the universities will shrink or close, and/or lose their accreditation, further increasing their brain drain.
What I don’t understand is why no politician who’s against this has proposed an education act under the guise of national security.
What republicans are doing with education is very dangerous. Stupid voters are easy to manipulate, which seems to be the goal, but they have to do more than vote for the other 364 days a year. Having a poorly educated population means you have less engineers designing infrastructure, less trades people building that infrastructure, less doctors to treat injured and ill people, and less skilled professionals overall. The US is largely in the economic and geopolitical position that is in due to the manufacturing and research capacity we had after WW2. For decades, the US was where people went if they wanted to be at the bleeding edge of design/research, because we had very good higher education and the skilled manufacturing to bring those designs to life. Attacking education only hastens the decline of that legacy. A few decades like this means the US will no longer be able to make the advanced military equipment used to project power across the world, or US companies not being able to find people who can maintain, improve, and innovate on products without hiring foreign contractors. If Desantis’ attacks become a national thing, they’ll be putting the US on a fast track to rapid decline and economic collapse.
It's ok, Florida's going under the water anyway. Let reasonable people while they can.
I have the striking feeling that 'Jews will not replace them.'
There has never been a project in my life that I walked away from that I regretted later doing that.
Here is the delusion: you stick it out, you triumph when you should have failed, you made a difference, and people love you for it.
Here is what really happens: you stick it out until you are broken/fired, you got some wins and took some Ls, you didn't make a difference because the disaster is bigger than you are, and everyone blames you for not being good enough.
Don't mix your success with their failure. Don't be a hero to people who don't want to be rescued. If Florida is making your job hard to do the best thing you can do is head north.
Needed to hear these words, very applicable to my current environment. Cheers :)
I grew up in a town of under 500 people deep in the Northern Appalachian mountains. If you work at it, it gets better. I never visit home and am upper middle class yuppy liberal atheist.
Take control of your life, move away from that crap. When you get to NYC send me a message, buy you a fancy latte or an IPA.
the brain drain is real. the 'red' states are getting dumber and dumber, and as a result, 'redder' and 'redder'.
A friend of mine was military and also moved all around the country for school and work. He said the dumbest people he ever met, that didn't realize they were dumb, were in Florida.
That's not at all surprising to me
All these doctors and professors they drive out have to go somewhere, and they're probably not going to be giving Republicans the time of day. They're consolidating power in firmly red states at the expense of swing states
Is that true? That would imply the younger generations are getting dumber, and I'm not sure if that tracks. It might be correlative with the fact that younger generations are getting more and more info from Internet sources (Tiktok, YouTube, podcasts, etc.), however.
The liberal brain drain. There are people at all levels of influence and all levels intelligence in all states nudging things in their chosen direction.
Those in position to influence red states cultivate social inertia based on faith and tradition instead of critical thinking or collective betterment. This is why authoritarianism prospers in this places and will continue to do so. Edit: forgot my point in my rambling: these brains do not drain and in fact desire this outcome.
Before any red supporters roast me, the left manipulates based on social cues and utopian promises. Their rabble is generally more critically thinking and educated, but opens themselves to hubris and idealistic naïveté.
Individuals with the ability and will to move away from perceived hostile environments increasingly are, and to places where they can live in an echo chamber. You can’t fault them, but as is discussed elsewhere, the effects on society at large in this age are concerning.
My brother went to New College. It was a great alternative school where people like my brother, who did not do well in conventional public school, were able to thrive. DeSantis destroyed that. It's criminal.
Good for them. Everyone should bail on that piece of shit. Show future pieces of shit that pieces of shit won’t be tolerated.
I'm actually interested in the outcome.
All leaving does is turn Florida more red. Stay and vote!
The Red State Brain Drain continues. Professors leaving Florida. OB/GYN doctors leaving Texas.
Why would you want to work in a place that criminalizes your job?
with the educators attracted to the research opportunities, student bodies, and the warm weather.
Possibly could have phrased that better, but OK.
with the educators attracted to the research opportunities, students bodies, and the warm weather.
That better?
Yes, I think that is factual now. Thanks.
Imma guess that they knew what they were doing when they phrased it like that
Maybe I'm wrong but this isn't good for anyone. Brain drain on the south only bolsters the southern strategy and will hand over the electoral college to the uninformed
So it's good for DeSantis
And whatever ilk follows in it's footstep
Exactly. Being driven out is what the GOP aims to do so it can win those important states like some red and swing states
A nice unintended effect is that it's causing Republicans in swing states to move to these deep red strongholds. They're consolidating their base, but securing a state that may be slipping at the cost of losing swing states is a recipe for losing the electoral college.
Edit: Not to mention, all these doctors and professors have to go somewhere. If they go to a swing state that's a pretty much guaranteed blue vote.
and opens up tons of positions to be filled by crony idiots.
Yup, this is a exactly what a person like DeSantis and his supporters want.
That can be true while at the same time it can be true that it isn't worth destroying your quality of life to fight when you can move to somewhere where people don't irrationally hate you for no good reason.
yeah this is something that needs to be regulated by stronger worker rights
The article keeps saying "conservative" when the correct descriptors would be "fascist", "bigoted" and "anti-education".
the
conservativefascist administration of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantisworked to put a[n]
conservativeanti-education imprint on [the] statewith a largely compliant GOP-controlled legislature, he's imposed
conservativebigoted education reforms across the state.The conservative platform is all of those things, so it's completely fair to call it that. The entire party is rotten to the core because they are simply ok with being the party of all of those things.
I'm not defending "normal conservatives" and other delusional participants in hate from being associated with this kind of barbarism. My gripe is with threefold:
1: Don't just repeat the same word when synonyms and even better suited words exist. It's lazy writing and annoying to read
2: More importantly, the rise of fascism and related far right demagoguery is a worldwide emergency, not least an American one.
When venerated right wing and/or centrist outlets such as Business Insider, CNN and New York Times keep calling fascism conservatism, they not only ignore the crisis and thus the need to adress it, they severely hinder anyone calling it out from being taken seriously, much less doinh anything to fight it.
The only University staff that most people care about is whoever is coaching the Gators or the Seminoles.
Florida > Highest paid public employee: Dan Mullen; University of Florida football coach > Annual salary: $6,070,000 > 2nd highest paid public employee: Willie Taggart; Florida Atlantic University football coach > Annual salary: $5,000,000 > 3rd highest paid public employee: Josh Heupel; University of Central Florida football coach
It's depressing how common that is.
That info is old, FSU's coach got paid over $8M to be screwed out of the playoffs :
And doesn't Florida have someone else now, too?
I get why they're doing it,
But what exactly do they think is going to happen when those highly coveted positions get filled by people complacent or supportive of DeSantis' agenda?The university system in Florida will get worse? Why should professors feel obligated to try to save Florida's higher ed system?
I'm just saying leaving isn't going to improve the situation. If they're leaving because they don't want to do it anymore, that's fine and I don't blame them at all.
But if they think they're making some kind of protest or statement by resigning, it won't change anything and will arguably make the problem worse.
I mean, to the professors themselves? Nothing. To the university system? Arguably, what the people of Florida want and deserve
It's nice to say one would stay on principle and try and change things /fight back, but in reality, it's a huge emotional and professional drain, especially on families. I've personally drawn a line at applying for positions in Florida
That said, I've got a number of friends who work as professors in Florida and they haven't given any indication this affects them, or they're even remotely interested in leaving. Professors have high mobility and move often, especially if they have a competing (better) offer. The turnover rate only increased by 2% in the last year, according to the article...
Arguably, what the people of Florida want and deserve
Try considering the polling places per capita of blue versus red counties and several other kinds of voter suppression before you go victim blaming millions of people.
Do you think they should stay in a hostile work environment dealing with reform policies they disagree with but have no power to change? If you get why they are leaving, what else is there for them to do? It's not a protest, it's people choosing to leave jobs they are no longer happy doing under the circumstances forced upon them.
Doing something for the greater good is admirable. But you can't expect everyone to do it and even those who do can't always spend a lifetime doing it. I'm sure these professors have considered the exact scenario you brought up, but at the same time they have to enjoy their life and raise families in a place that isn't hostile to them.
What's going to happen? They will get exactly what they want, which is students being taught what they want them to believe. It's an academic coup.
The silver-lining in Florida becoming solid red is that maybe - just maybe - we see an end to the Cuba embargo. But democrats will loose a critical Florida voting block! And? Like having the anti-Cubans on our side will help us take Florida anymore.
Good old Florida. Who needs fancy-pants professors when you've got a gater on a leash?
It's not a bug, it's a feature according to Republicans.
I've got my share of "cases of the corporate Mondays", and it is chock full of its own brand of ghoulery, but I'm so glad I jumped ship from academia. So many of my colleagues are stuck in some awful situations.
Granted, some that tried to jump weren't lucky enough to cross the gap, and are stuck in THAT awful situation.
With the ratio of adjunct to tenured faculty, the state of obtaining tenure, and the increasingly toothless nature of tenure, not to mention these goons doing everything they can to demonize education at all levels that isn't a 5 page child's board story book of Noah's Ark....
He's a scary person.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Professors from across the country have long been lured to Florida's public colleges and universities, with the educators attracted to the research opportunities, student bodies, and the warm weather.
In recent years, DeSantis has railed against the current process by which tenure is awarded, and with a largely compliant GOP-controlled legislature, he's imposed conservative education reforms across the state.
Neil H. Buchanan, an economist and legal scholar who specializes in tax policy, was recruited to the University of Florida College of Law in 2019 in a tenured position, a huge get for the school.
In a recent Justia article, Buchanan wrote that Florida Republicans "have shown in every way possible that they want to get rid of people like me," criticizing their "increasingly open hostility to professors and to higher education."
Sarah Lynne, the chair-elect of the University of Florida's faculty senate, told The Times that while some professors have left the state, politics is generally not the defining reason.
University of Florida law professor Danaya C. Wright told The Times that several job candidates have pulled back their interest in moving to the state.
The original article contains 633 words, the summary contains 185 words. Saved 71%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!
educators attracted to...student bodies...
Wat